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Panasonic, Sony, Samsung Team For Universal 3D Glasses Standard

New York
- Panasonic, Sony and Samsung announced they will team with Xpand 3D for a new
technology standard for active-shutter glasses.

They have termed
the partnership the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative, and plan to introduce universal
3D glasses to market by 2012.

According a joint
release, the companies will work together on the development and licensing of
RF-system 3D active glasses technology, "including RF system protocols between
consumer 3D active glasses and 3D displays such as televisions, personal
computers, projectors and 3D theaters with Xpand active-shutter glasses."

The glasses will
use Bluetooth technology.

"The
standardization will also include multiple types of infrared system protocols
between 3D active glasses and 3D displays, ranging from the protocols jointly
developed by Panasonic and Xpand 3D, to the proprietary protocols of Samsung
and Sony, respectively," the group added.

The license is
targeted to be released in September, at which time the development of new
standardization-applied active 3D glasses will begin, and universal glasses
with the new protocols will be available in 2012, the group said. The glasses "are
targeted to be backward compatible with 2011 3D active TVs."

"Panasonic has
been working to standardize 3D glasses technologies, and in March, we announced
a joint licensing of IR system protocols with Xpand, backed by several
participant companies. We are very pleased that today's latest collaboration
will incorporate our previous concept into these new standardization efforts,"
Masayuki Kozuka, general manager of media and content alliance office,
corporate R&D division, Panasonic, said in a statement. "We hope the
expanded collaboration on this 3D standardization initiative will make a
significant contribution toward accelerating the growth of 3D-related
products."

in which LG maintained that more consumers prefer passive
3DTV technology than active-shutter technology. When asked if he thought this
new group would increase the sales of 3DTV, particularly active-shutter 3DTV,
Ross Rubin, industry analysis director of The NPD Group, said that retailers
are likely to benefit the most.

"It does address a
concern, probably more on the retail end of things than on the consumer demand
side of things. Creating compatibility for active-shutter glasses among the
three leading brands in the marketplace simplifies stocking of aftermarket
accessories for retailers, and moving to Bluetooth as the standard does help
create a better customer experience vs. some of the IR products that we saw
early on," he said.

Rubin added that
this could also help glasses sales. "NPD has seen research that the cost of the
glasses is one of the concerns that consumers have. Particularly if you want to
outfit an entire family, it can get relatively expensive when you're looking at
active shutter. The standardization should help with the availability of the
glasses and bringing down of the prices."